FRANKLIN D. GILLIAM, JR. SOCIAL JUSTICE AWARD Through the efforts of members of the UCLA Luskin advisory board along with many other donors, the new Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr. Social Justice Award, named for the former dean of the UCLA Luskin School, was created to advance research that focuses on issues of racial justice and inequality. Reflecting the School’s mission to bring about social change through academic excellence, this award highlights student scholarship that addresses crucial societal issues. This year’s award recipients are Susanna Curry, a doctoral candidate in Social Welfare; Elizabeth Calixtro, a master of Public Policy student; Kevin Medina, a master of Social Welfare and master of Public Policy student; Nisha Parekh, a master of Public Policy and Law student; Marylou Adriatico, a master of Social Welfare student; and Joanna L. Barreras, Charles H. Lea III and Christina Tam, all doctoral candidates in Social Welfare.
A ONCE IN A LIFETIME EXPERIENCE
GRAND CHALLENGE AWARDS
UCLA Urban Planning students now have the opportunity to spend an academic quarter studying in the heart of Paris, on the city’s historic Left Bank. A new exchange program between the Urban School at Sciences Po and the UCLA Luskin School
J.R. DeShazo
Juan Matute of Public Affairs’ Department of Urban Planning will allow three Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) students to study in Paris for a quarter, while three of their continental counterparts will study at Luskin, according to Alexis Oberlander, Urban Planning graduate adviser. The exchange program was initiated by Urban Planning faculty members Michael Storper and Stephen Commins UP Ph.D. ’88, and Luskin Associate Dean Anastasia LoukaitouSideris, in conjunction with faculty at Sciences Po’s Urban School. “No other Urban Planning program in the United States can offer a similar opportunity to its students,” Storper said.
Three UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs researchers, Brian Taylor UP Ph.D. ’92, Juan Matute MA UP/MBA ’09 and J.R. DeShazo, are among 11 UCLA winners of $1.2 million in competitive research grants awarded through the UCLA Sustainable LA Grand Challenge’s Five-Year Work Plan. The grants are for work that furthers the goals of 100 percent renewable energy and locally sourced water for the Los Angeles area by 2050. In addition, Jaimee Lederman, an Urban Planning doctoral candidate, was recently named an LA Grand Challenge Powell Policy Fellow for a research/scholarly project. Taylor and Matute said that their project will study the viability of shared zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) and transportation network companies (TNCs) such as Uber and Lyft “to and from major transit stops to promote both ZEV and transit for commute-related traffic.” DeShazo’s winning proposal will assess whether creating a unified water market out of the current fragmented system of more than 200 community water systems in Los Angeles is a real possibility.
Brian Taylor
luskin.ucla.edu
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